


Written in Wind

by VerdiWithin



Series: Talisman [44]
Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Family Drama, Friendship, Gaslighting, Imprisonment, Rise of the Dread Queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:13:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23486620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VerdiWithin/pseuds/VerdiWithin
Summary: Persephone was stolen away. Hades is devastated.
Relationships: Hades/Persephone (Lore Olympus)
Series: Talisman [44]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1497371
Comments: 42
Kudos: 285





	Written in Wind

**Author's Note:**

> Previously in this series: 
> 
> Hades planned to propose, but Demeter gave Persephone a mind-control drug and took her away to the Mortal Realm.

**Eros:**

I push my way through a little crowd of people and approach Psyche. She looks wrecked and accepts my hug with relief. 

“Oh, my love,” she murmurs. “I do not know what to do!”

“Where’s Hades?” I ask.

She points to a little knot of people around a park bench. I spot Zeus and Poseidon crouched down, making shields of their own bodies. Hades is sitting on the bench, his elbows on his knees, head in his hands. He’s shaking, I can see it even from here. I kiss Psyche’s forehead and release her, going over to sit next to Hades.

My grandfather and Poseidon react with hostility, protecting their brother, but stand down on seeing that it’s me. I put my hand on Hades’s arm. He’s quivering violently--when I’m this close, I can also hear the high-pitched noise of distress he’s making.

“What can I do to help?” I ask.

Slowly Hades turns his head toward me. His eyes are huge, his pupils blown wide. I’ve never seen a being look this shocked in my entire life.

“She’s gone,” he whispers.

“I know. Psyche told me.”

“She ran away. She left everything behind and she ran.”

I jerk back, feeling my own eyes go wide. “Have you lost your  _ damn mind? _ ”

Grandfather and Poseidon gasp in shock.

“Eros, ixnay on the azycray!” Zeus says.

“No, for real! There is no way in  _ hell  _ Persephone would just up and run out on you! What’s wrong with you? Don’t you  _ get _ it?”

Hades is gaping at me, and his brothers are frantically trying to shut me up, but I’m not having it. “She  _ loves _ you, Hades. I say this as her friend, and your friend, and a God of Love. I’m not wrong about this.”

He draws a deep breath and reaches out to grab my wrist. “I have a ring!” 

“I know you do. I was there when you bought it, remember?”

“I wanted to ask her tonight!”

“Okay, deep breaths, now. Are you gonna be all right?”

“I don’t know!”

**Hecate:**

I assimilate the reports of all the personnel I summoned from the Underworld to help, and march up to Hades with my summary. He seems completely shattered, but Eros is there with his new partner, patting Hades’s shoulder and saying encouraging things. Zeus and Poseidon are nearby, keeping an eye on anyone who tries to approach their brother, and updating Hera, Hestia, and Artemis on developments. They give me a nod as I step up.

“Hades,” I say. “I have information.”

He focuses on me with an obvious effort. His pupils are dilated wide. “Yes?”

“Our people have been up and down the street, showing her picture and asking questions. From what we’ve pieced together, she arrived here and visited two stores, making purchases in each. She walked down the street doing some window shopping, and then she met someone. They went into the café and had tea, then went out again. They transferred away together.”

“Who was it?” Hades asks, his voice soft and cracked.

“The witness statements are very clear. It was a tall green goddess, with purple hair.”

Hearing Demeter’s description, the others move in closer to hear more.

“So she met her mom?” Eros asks. “ _ Oof. _ ”

“Yes, exactly. It’s impossible to say at this point whether it was pre-arranged or a surprise to Persephone.”

“What’re your next steps, then?” Zeus asks.

“I’ve sent the Furies to Demeter’s house, to see what they can learn.”

**Eros:**

“Can I see this note?” I ask. Psyche mentioned it to me, and I want to see for myself.

Hades opens his hand and allows me to take the slip of paper. It has his name on the outside, and inside it reads:  _ I’m sorry, I can’t do this anymore. I  _ _ trust _ _ you will understand. _

“Huh. That seems odd. Not very detailed at all. Definitely her writing, though.”

Hestia moves in and reads the note, too. “Well, it seems clear enough to me,” she says. “She’s breaking up with you.” 

I wonder who called  _ her _ to come down. Useless busybody!

Hera snatches the paper, reads quickly, and makes a scoffing noise. “Nonsense! Persephone is no coward. She wouldn’t break up with someone via a  _ note. _ ”

‘You can’t know that for sure,” Hestia answers. “She might if she were afraid of something.” 

Her glance stabs accusingly at Hades, and he flinches. He’s all too willing to believe the worst.

It’s Artemis’s turn to ridicule. “No way! It’s completely not her style. She faces things head-on.”

Hades wanders away to the periphery of this idiotic debate, massaging his temples as if he’s trying very hard not to flip his shit. I join him, and speak in a low voice. “I want you to know that I don’t believe any of this. She wouldn’t run off willingly. Someone forced her to go.”

He looks at me, his eyes full of pain. “She used her safeword,” he whispers, shame spilling out in his tone and posture.

“When?”

“In the note. She said  _ trust. _ She underlined it.” 

Of  _ course _ Persephone would choose such a cutesy safeword. I control the urge to roll my eyes. “Yeah? And you think that means she wants you to leave her alone? I think it means the opposite!”

He shakes his head in confusion. “Why do you say that?”

“She said she trusts you! She trusts you to figure it out, and come after her!”

He seems to roll this idea around in his head, try it on for size as compared with his default self-contempt. “Do you think so?”

“Of course I do! Look, I get it, you’re still reeling from a lot of crappy relationships, and getting jerked around, but just think about  _ Persephone _ for a minute. There is  _ no way _ she’d do this to you if she had a choice. If she were scared of you, which I don’t believe, she’d have come to me, right?”

“Yes. That’s true.”

“So come on, then. Get it together!”

He takes a series of long, slow breaths looking at the ground, then raises his gaze to me. His eyes are blazing now, focused and fierce. I almost want to retreat from him. I allowed myself to get used to Hades as my slightly goofy, lovesick friend. I almost forgot that he’s also an ancient and unspeakably powerful god. He’s endured worse trials than I can imagine, and come through them scarred and damaged, but still standing.

There’s a slight buzz in the air, and he’s suddenly holding his bident. He’s dressed in a chiton and leather kilt, with breastplate and greaves, all of the deepest black. Everyone stops their bickering and turns to look at him. Even I, the eldest son of the God of War, am taken aback by Hades’s transformation. He is truly frightening.

“I’m going to check Demeter’s place in the Mortal Realm,” he says, looking around at the crowd of concerned friends. There’s a  _ pop _ , and suddenly his terrifying black dog is here, enormous and three-headed, growling slightly and leaning over his master’s shoulder. “I welcome the company of anyone here. I have nothing to hide.”

“I’ll go with you,” Artemis says, suddenly dressed in her own warrior’s clothes.

“And I!” Athena volunteers, slipping her shield over her arm.

Zeus snorts. “We  _ all _ will. Let’s go, people.”

**Zeus:**

Demeter’s home seems deserted. I can’t recall the last time I was here. Surely it’s been years? I seem to remember that the place was buzzing with activity, full of busy nymphs hopping to and fro, doing Demeter’s bidding. 

“Isn’t it kind of creepy, seeing it like this?” I say to Poseidon.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

The Furies come out of the main house and march up to Hades. He’s standing in the forecourt, his feet planted wide, unmoving. Eros and Psyche stand with him, one on each side, holding his arms and talking to him. They seem to think he needs this kind of active support, but I suppose they’re well-suited to giving it.

“There’s no one here,” Alecto says.

“The place is totally empty, and cleaned out of anything useful,” Tisiphone adds. 

Hades doesn’t react.

“Well, that’s not a big surprise,” I say. “If Demeter took her, she’d hardly be stupid enough to just go home where everyone knows how to find her.”

“So then what’s next?” Hera asks.

“Why don’t we split into small groups?” Athena says. “We can all check various spots that Demeter frequents, and see if there’s any sign of her?” 

“That sounds logical to me,” Poseidon replies.

“If I may suggest,” Hecate says, “could we coordinate that, and make an agreement to meet up again in a few hours?”

The whole throng of people: Athena, Ares, Hestia, Poseidon, Amphitrite, Triton, Hera, Hermes, the Furies--all of them crowd around, enthusiastically endorsing Hecate’s plan. Only Hades and his pair of attendants hold themselves apart. I move over to speak to him.

“We’ll find her, Hades. You know we will. Demeter isn’t so clever that she can hide from all of us for long.”

He meets my eyes just briefly. He looks so haunted, nearly broken. I’ve never seen him like that before. He nods slowly, but doesn’t answer me. 

“I want to see her room,” he says. He’s not looking at anyone specific when he says it.

“All right,” Psyche says. “I will help you find it.”

“I’ll stay here,” Eros says. “Make sure I know where the others are going.”

Hades nods and he and Psyche go into the house together. 

Eros looks at me. “You’re really that confident? You don’t think Demeter has some trick up her sleeve?”

I shrug. “Yeah, probably, but sooner or later she’ll screw up.”

“I hope it’s sooner. I’m not sure how long he can keep going like this.”

I’m struck by my grandson’s insight and concern. I didn’t realize how close he has become with my brother.

**Psyche:**

I peek into yet another bedroom. This one has a few posters with inspirational statements, but mostly the walls are lined with books. Books on botany and horticulture, and also history and mathematics and novels. So many of them! One whole shelf is given over to little brass statues and cups with marble bases, engraved with various achievements. Chess Champion, Excellence in Mathematics, First Place: Olympus Spelling Bee. This is clearly Persephone’s room.

I step out to the hall. “Hades? I believe this is her room.”

He is looking at a portrait. His shoulders are slumped and he looks bereft. He turns slowly toward me, and approaches, entering the room.

It is painted a vibrant blue, and the sunlight is pouring in. There is a desk between the windows, with many small objects neatly arranged around the edges. Rocks, dried flowers, birds’ nests, seashells, pinecones, feathers, carved bits of wood. I watch from the door while Hades examines them in silence, his fingers hovering over the tiny items, not quite touching them.

The bed is very small and tucked away in the darkest corner. It is neatly made with a bright, flowered spread, and a pile of soft animal toys. Hades picks one up, a small pink bear. He looks at it for a moment and replaces it, picking up another that seems to interest him more. It is a fuzzy black dog that he is holding, and I watch him try to control himself as his face crumples. 

I turn away, step out into the hall, allowing my friend a few moments alone with his grief. 

**Hecate:**

When Hades returns to the courtyard, all the others have gone off to scour locations around the Mortal Realm, checking for any signs of two wayward goddesses. Only Cerberus, Eros, and I are left behind.

“I have a detailed list of the locations the others are going to check,” I tell Hades. “We’ll rendezvous at sunset.”

“Okay,” he replies. “I’m going to look in places where she and I have been before.”

“And we’re going with you,” Eros says firmly.

Hades accepts this assertion quite meekly, and goes off with his friends.

**Eros:**

For two days and nights Hades drives himself mercilessly, and Psyche and I tag along. We visit mortal cities, fields, forests, islands, and volcanoes, of all things. All places that he and Persephone visited, or that he knows she has a connection to. At the end of the second day he finally agrees to sit down and eat something, simply because he can’t think of any more places to go.

He’s looking quite miserable, bordering on sick. I know perfectly well that when Psyche and I rested last night, curled up under my cloak in some soft grass on a riverbank, he went off by himself. In consequence, he’s now looking exhausted and dissheveled. He’s increasingly unresponsive when someone speaks to him.

Grandfather gave special permission for the use of phones in the Mortal Realm so we can stay in touch, and everyone nobly refrained from rolling their eyes at him. We would have used them anyway, but it’s a relief not to have to sneak. I check my phone again. Still nothing.

**Poseidon:**

I’ve looked in every place Demeter and I used to visit, way back when we were an item. No sign of her, or Persephone. I can’t really think of anywhere else to go, so I decide to have a sit for a while. It’s been almost three days of searching, without much rest. Every time I wish I could go home, I think about poor Hades, and the look on his face. I’ll do whatever it takes to help my brother. This situation is destroying him.

I’m scrolling through my phone, reading a bunch of negative updates from the others, when I hear the sound of hooves. I turn to see a gray stallion trotting up to me. I stand up, grinning.

“Good to see you, son!”

The horse shimmers and transforms, becoming a silvery-green young god. My son Arion. “Hi, Dad,” he says. “I keep running into gods in the weirdest places.”

“Sorry about that. Everyone is out looking for your sister.” I’m not sure how much more I should tell him. He sometimes gets upset if given a lot of information at once.

“That’s what I figured. I saw her the other day.”

“You saw her? Where?” I try to clamp down on my emotions but it’s hard.

Arion flinches, and looks away from me, but I can tell that he steeled himself for this conversation. “I was keeping an eye out on this compound where Mother has been stashing a bunch of nymphs and other people. A few days ago she brought Persephone there, and then all hell broke loose.”

“Really? Can you show me where?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m here. They all left, though--I don’t know where they went, but I heard my mother say she would take Persephone away to somewhere she’d be safe.”

**Hecate:**

The clearing that Poseidon directed us to comprises a compound large enough to house dozens of people. The buildings here were recently standing, that’s clear, but now all of them have collapsed or are on the verge of doing so. I peer into the rubble, spotting various items that apparently were left behind when the buildings fell. It seems this place was abandoned in a hurry.

“Hecate!” I look up to see Alecto beckoning to me, so I cross over to where she is, next to a large group. “Look what we found!” 

The Furies are holding a prisoner: a miserable, huddled figure crouched on his knees, sobbing silently. 

“Thanatos,” I say. “Looks like you’ve come down in the world.”

He raises his head to look at me. His eyes are like windows into the void. His face shows tear tracks, and his shoulders are shaking, but he seems to have cried himself out for the moment. 

“Well, what have you to say?”

He shakes his head and doesn’t answer. “There’s something weird about him,” Megaera comments. “He feels different.”

I frown. I think I know what she means. I place two fingers on his forehead, and jerk back almost immediately. I start to ask who did this to him, but I’m sure that I can guess. “Is Hades here yet?” I ask instead.

“Yeah, over there, talking with his brothers,” Tisiphone says, gesturing.

**Zeus:**

This place is a  _ dump. _ I can’t think why Demeter chose it for a base of operations. I’m discussing ideas with my brothers of what might have happened here, when the Furies drag over a crumpled figure and throw it at our feet. I look with interest to see who this might be. The person is wearing an odd cloak of feathers, and a wrinkled, stained chiton. It lifts its face. It’s a man, and looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t place him. He gives off a cloying scent, like decay.

Hades hisses, and his tension ratchets up. “Thanatos!” he spits. “What are you doing here?”

“He’s not talking,” Alecto says. “We found him in the woods nearby.”

“There’s something wrong with him,” I say, shifting my feet. “ _ Very  _ wrong.”

There’s a pause while everyone probes with their senses, trying to figure out what the weird aura means.

“I think I know what it is,” says Hecate. She waits until everyone is focused on her. “Someone ripped the godhead right out of him. He’s god of nothing, now.”

I’m so shocked I can’t speak. “How is that possible?” Poseidon gasps. “I’ve never heard of anything that can do that!”

“You don’t mean he’s mortal now, do you?” I ask.

“No. I don’t think that can be altered,” Hecate replies, locking eyes with Hades. “He just has no domain. No special powers. It’s gone, and I can feel something torn, where it used to be.”

Hades is smiling, for the first time I’ve seen since Persephone’s disappearance. I should be glad for his improved mood, but it makes me uneasy. “Who did this to you?” I say to the former God of Death. “Was it Demeter?” 

Thanatos doesn’t react, but Hades is smirking at me. “Of course it wasn’t Demeter. It was Persephone.”

He’s perfectly calm saying this, even gloating. Thanatos looks up at us.

“Is that true? Persephone did this?”

He nods, then looks away at the ground. I find myself deeply disturbed. I had no idea this sort of thing was even possible, and now this bold young goddess, who’s already been inserting herself into momentous events, is manifesting yet another unprecedented ability? It’s concerning. I can’t really say anything, though. I’ve been unfair to her before, and I need to trust that my brother knows what he’s getting himself into.

Hades is watching me, waiting for a comment. “What?” he says. “It surprises you that the Goddess of Rebirth should have power over Death?”

I’m a bit stunned that he isn’t bothered by what this question implies about him. “You think that’s all it is? Not some sort of new ability to rearrange godheads?”

He shrugs. “That’s my guess. But if it’s something more, I can’t think who else I would trust with that power.”

I suppose he’s right. Persephone has already demonstrated her loyalty and honor.

**Artemis:**

Athena, Hestia and I pick through the ruined buildings, looking for clues to Persephone’s whereabouts. So far we’ve just found bits of clothing and personal items, certainly no leather-bound journal with the engraved title  _ My Nefarious Plans, _ and a signed inscription by Demeter. I don’t know why we’re bothering, other than to give us something to do.

I lift yet another brick, and try to ignore my companions’ bickering.

“I’m just saying, if she  _ is  _ scared of him, she’d go to her mother, wouldn’t she?” Hestia asks.

“I actually quite doubt that, given what I’ve seen of Persephone’s interactions with Demeter,” Athena replies. 

“Nonsense! A girl needs her mother.”

“Really? How can you spout platitudes like that?” Athena looks rather offended.

I can’t take this anymore. “Persephone’s already been through a lot of crap. She’s strong. She wouldn’t take any abuse from Hades, believe me.”

They exchange a long look, and we all continue our search in silence.

**Hecate:**

An odd scent has been drawing my attention for some time. I track it to a clump of something growing at the side of the clearing. It’s a knee-high plant with oval leaves and a strong odor, unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before. There’s a faint, lingering sense of a god’s power associated with the herb patch. I contemplate what this could be. Much as this new plant fascinates me, I can’t take the time now to analyze it. I take a small sample to remind me to ask Persephone later.

I’ve been toying with an idea for some time, and since none of our leads have panned out, I think now is as good a time as any to try it out. I walk over to Hades.

“You still have the stone, don’t you? Ione’s… Eye?” I ask.

“Yes, of course.” He looks confused.

“May I see it, please?”

He hands it over, with a bit of reluctance. I probe the stone with my power, tasting its magic. It’s an extremely powerful fertility talisman, and as I suspected, has strong connections to both Persephone and Hades. She carried it for years, and he’s been carrying it for months. I see how to influence its magic, to use the bond between them, and their mutual bond with the stone.

I pull on the bond, pouring energy into it, forcing the stone’s magic to manifest the bond in a tangible way. It resists my efforts to warp its purpose with sorcery, struggling against me until I force it into submission.

“There,” I say, handing it back. “I’ve altered it, so you can use it to find her. It’s not very strong--this isn’t at all a normal use for its magic.”

Hades takes the stone from me and I see the light of hope in his eyes for the first time in days. “Thank you,” he says, his gratitude obvious in every line of his body.

**Hera:**

Hades turns to look around, his eyes scanning the crowd, then steps up in front of me and bows his head in a show of respect. Everyone in the clearing senses the incipient drama and turns to witness this scene. The King of the Underworld, brought low by heartbreak, bowing to me.

“Hera. Queen of the Gods, Goddess of Marriage,” he says. His voice cracks with pain. It’s all I can do to hold his gaze. “I wish to ask the Goddess of Spring to marry me. I ask for your blessing in this quest, that I may find her and ask her what she desires.”

I’m unsurprised. It’s past time he settled this matter between them. I only wish he’d done it earlier, so perhaps this situation might have been avoided. 

I speak in a clear, carrying voice. “I give you my blessing, God of the Dead. May you find the Goddess of Spring. May your suit prosper. If she agrees to be your wife, I will bless your union.”

He nods, firmly, and turns away. Once more his shoulders slump and his hands shake. He used up all his control in speaking to me.

**Alecto:**

I step forward. “It’s fitting that you find Praxidike on your own. We won’t interfere.”

“Thank you,” Hades murmurs. His fist is closed tight around the stone. “I appreciate your flexibility.”

“She is our Mistress and sister, and you are her companion. We will assist in any way we can. Tell us what to do, and we will do it.”

Beside me, my sisters nod firmly, and fold their arms. We have discussed this, and are ready to do whatever it takes.

Hades’s face is shuttered with pain. He nods, looking away from us, and thinks for a while. When he finally speaks it’s not what we expected. “Find Demeter,” he says. “Wherever she is. I suspect she’s scattered her group to many locations. Find her. I doubt she has Persephone with her, but she’ll know where she is.”

I nod. “Very well.”

“Find her, and bring her--bring her to Hera. Hold her securely. Be courteous, but don’t take no for an answer.”

“We will do this thing, Hades. And when you have found our Mistress we will kneel at her feet once more and tell her that you have kept faith with her.”

His face shows only misery.

**Eros:**

Psyche and I exchange a glance, and then run to catch up with Hades as he walks out of the clearing. “We’re ready to go with you.”

He stops to look at us. “Thank you. Both of you. I won’t forget what you have done for me, but I think you should go home. Don’t worry, I’ll have Cerberus with me.”

Psyche is clearly distressed that he means to leave us behind. “You are certain you want to go on alone?”

“I think I have to. I think it’s the only way I can find her.”

She shrinks back against me, letting me pull her under my arm. “I wish you luck, Hades,” I say. “You deserve it. Please find our friend and bring her home.”

He nods, clearly moved but keeping his emotions in check. “Thank you. If it can be done, I will do it.” He looks down at the stone in his hand for a moment, and then he and his dog transfer away.

**Hades:**

Cerberus and I travel through the Mortal Realm for days. Occasionally he goes off to hunt, and comes back shortly with a rabbit or a bird. I have no interest in eating, but when we pass a fruit tree I grab a piece or two, just to have the energy to go on. 

I use the stone almost constantly. I hold it up to my eye and turn slowly in a circle, gazing all around me. The direction with the most resonance is the proper one. It’s an extremely subtle thing, and often misleading. It works best on tall hills and mountains, where I can see farther. Once I choose a direction, I transfer a few leagues, and repeat the process. Sometimes I walk for a while, looking for anyone who might be able to give me information. I can’t sleep. When night comes, I just keep going. The lack of light doesn’t make any difference to me. 

I’m terrified for Persephone. Rationally speaking, I know that Demeter would never let her come to real harm. Nonetheless I’m certain that she’s upset and angry right now, at a minimum. She would have long since escaped if Demeter wasn’t keeping her bound somehow. Picturing Persephone in chains, or behind bars, sends the flames of rage soaring high again.

I can’t keep on like this. I have to stay calm or I’ll use up all my resources, and end up sobbing in a ditch somewhere. I can’t afford to let my emotions take control. I may be in this for a long haul, but however long it takes, I  _ will _ find Persephone. I will ask her where she wants to be, and help her to go there. Wherever that may be.

Deep inside, there’s a wretched, lingering voice of doubt. Mostly it keeps silent, but when I’m at a low point, it interjects a dark idea. Perhaps Persephone thought it over and didn’t like what we did the other night. Maybe she felt scared and threatened by surrendering control to me. I put my hand on her throat, and held her wrists, and made her tell me stories. 

She seemed all right--she even claimed to really enjoy it. She acted normally the next morning, although she left early, and lied to me about why. That doesn’t feel great. Still, she’s entitled to have secrets, if she wants them. Despite having fun with power dynamics, she knows how to assert herself. Persephone usually isn’t shy about letting me know how she feels.

I’m losing track of time. Several days have passed, but I don’t have a clue how many. I have a brief rest for an hour before sunrise. When it starts getting light, I rise again, and poke Cerberus. He sighs, giving me a slight glare, but gets up willingly. He understands what we’re doing, and how important it is. I transfer to a nearby mountain. I can see the sun rising from here, all glowing, with pink rays shining through the clouds. I suppose it’s gorgeous, or it would be, if I were in a mood to enjoy anything.

I lift the stone to my eye and turn slowly, focusing on the direction I’ve been tending toward for the past day and a half. There’s no resonance. “Dammit!” I yell. This has happened over and over. It defies my understanding why the direction should keep changing. I wonder if there’s something wrong with the sorcery Hecate wrought on the stone. Maybe it doesn’t work, and I’m on a wild-chimera chase. 

Cerberus is looking up at me, his expressive canine eyes full of sadness. He expects me to be the leader, to figure this out and find Persephone. We’ve tried multiple times to let him lead, to search using his instincts of scent and protection, with no results. Either Persephone is on the move, or Demeter is using some kind of obfuscation to keep her from me. If she were on the move, though--wouldn’t she come to me? Or to someone, who could then tell me?

I keep looking through the stone, feeling a bit of a chump. I’ve been at this for multiple days, possibly a week--is it ever going to work? I turn slowly, concentrating, alert for the resonance. I get a hint of it to the North. I shudder. North, farther from the homeland. Away from all that is civilized, all that is familiar. Into the hinterlands, where wild things dwell. 

It doesn’t matter. I’ll go wherever the stone leads me. Anything for Persephone.

***

It’s been another day of back-and-forth tacking as the stone leads me deeper into the Northern mountains. The land is rugged and choppy, and the mountain ranges are seemingly never-ending. I need to move slowly. I keep having to double back, finding myself covering the same ground again and again. Cerberus follows me loyally, even though it’s bitter cold and there’s little game to be found at this altitude. He wants to find Persephone nearly as much as I do.

I stand on a peak, frustrated, looking back and forth. Just a little while ago, the stone indicated Southeast, but I took a few minutes to rest, and now it’s resonating due West. Can’t the damned thing make up its mind? West of me is another mountain peak, the highest one in the region. I’m almost sure I visited it a few hours ago. I sigh, and transfer once again. Indeed, the mountaintop is very familiar, although they’re all pretty similar. Maybe I’m just losing my mind. I put the stone to my eye and scan in a slow circle. 

Nothing.  _ Fuck _ ! How can that be? I’m certain the last sighting was in this direction. I repeat my survey, slower, and again feel no resonance at all. Cerberus whines and bumps my leg. “I know, boy,” I say. “I’m upset, too.” I keep turning, completing a third circle. Not a twinge. I want to cry. I begin again, but Cerberus barks, loud and insistent. 

“What is it?” I ask, lowering the stone from my eye. 

My dog is gazing down the mountain. I move over next to him, and look. Far below us is a saddle in the mountain, a steep-sided bowl sheltered by the peaks on either side. In the center of the bowl, a tall tower is planted. It’s built of the same stone as the mountain itself, making it blend in. I can barely breathe from excitement. I hold the stone up to my eye, and the resonance is immediate and intensely strong. 

“This is it!” I shout. “She’s here!” 

Cerberus leaps and barks in joy, and I open myself to the Narrow Spaces, trying to transfer. There’s a resistance I’ve never felt before. I probe in various directions--it seems I could transfer in any direction, but not down to the tower. This must be part of Demeter’s blurring the trail. 

“I guess we’ll have to climb down. Come on, boy.”

I scramble down from the summit, slipping on pebbles and icy patches. Cerberus lopes along, using his advantage of four paws and greater stability to reach the bottom well ahead of me. He sits and waits while I’m still picking my way, trying to find any sort of path that won’t end up with me sliding down on my ass. 

When I finally reach bottom my joints are aching and I’m nursing several scrapes but my goal is in sight. I stride over to the tower, looking for the door. I don’t see one on this side, and the only windows are high up near the roof, but I spiral in, moving around the building--

A fierce wind stops me in my tracks. It’s so strong that I lean against it, fighting for every step forward. Cerberus moves up next to me. His lower profile and greater traction make him less susceptible to the wind’s force. I grab onto him and let him pull me. I can barely see, as the cold, rushing air robs me of most of my vision. I trust my faithful companion to lead me. 

Step by step we approach the tower, staggering and fighting for each cubit gained. The cold cuts right through my cloak and chiton. It’s a good thing I’m used to temperatures like this. When we finally brush up against the stone wall I gasp a sigh of relief. The wind is slightly diminished in the tower’s lee, but there’s still no sign of a door. I wonder if I’ve gotten turned around. There’s nothing for it but to explore. 

Keeping one hand on the tower I begin walking, still working hard for each step. No matter which way I’m going, the wind tries to push me away from the building. This is not natural. This is part of the protection Demeter set up, I’m sure of it. With Cerberus’s help, I move halfway around the tower and finally find a heavy wooden door, banded and studded with iron. Naturally there’s neither a handle nor a knocker. I summon my bident and set its points against the door. I lean on it with all the force I can bring to bear and the door splinters at the latch. I place my foot and shove it open.

Inside, the wind is dramatically lessened and I take a few moments to pant before beginning to explore. I’m in a wedge-shaped chamber, with one dark archway leading out. I peer through, and find a stone spiral staircase. It’s a little frustrating that I climbed all the way down a slippery path and fought my way through tenacious winds, and now I have to climb up again, but I’ll do it. I’ll do anything it takes to reach Persephone. I run up the stairs, two or three at a time, Cerberus bounding after me. 

It’s a tall tower, and the stairs are dark, steep, and unvarying. There are no landings, no windows, and no doors into any interior rooms. It goes on and on until finally we arrive at the top. Light enters the space through narrow windows, but also wind. It’s cold, and the stiff breeze whips right through, first one direction, then another, whistling and moaning in turns. The room is also filled with a thick, gray fog. I would think the wind would blow the fog away, but it doesn’t.

I take a step forward and Cerberus growls. I know what he means. There’s a sense of menace in the air, an indefinable mood of danger and hostility. I pause to analyze it, but nothing happens except the wind tugging at my cloak. I take another step forward, reaching out to touch the thick mist.

_ Unseen One. _

The voice comes from everywhere and nowhere, a low whisper. I actually feel a slight sense of relief, to have my opponent finally revealed. I was certain that Demeter would not leave Persephone unguarded.

“Yes.” 

_ You are not welcome here. _

The voice is composed of many sounds: hums, shrieks, moans. All the sounds of the wind.

“Give me what I want, and I’ll be on my way.” 

The wind strikes me hard, from behind, and I lurch forward, grabbing onto Cerberus again. I can see this isn’t going to be simple. Wind spirits-- _ anemoi _ \--are ancient, and not susceptible to the sort of give and take common in Olympus nowadays. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything I can offer them in exchange for their help.

_ You are not welcome here. Leave! _

“I am not leaving without Persephone. Where is she?”

The fog in front of me clears slightly, allowing a glimpse through it. I can see the hazy outline of the windows on the other side of the room, and obscuring their light, a shadow. A horizontal outline, a woman’s figure. Persephone. Lying down, quiet and unmoving. 

A cry escapes my throat and I stumble forward, but now the howling wind is blowing against me, so hard it’s like a wall of stone. Cerberus struggles by my side but it’s adamant. There’s no getting through this, not by force. I take a half step back and pant, gathering my thoughts.

_ Unseen One. The Barley Mother gave the Maiden into our care.  _

I’ve no doubt she did, and I can guess the reason why.  _ Anemoi _ are traditionally seen as protectors of girl-children. In stories they sometimes protect girls from monsters and monstrous men. I don’t know how Demeter convinced them, but once she did, they would be implacable. Ancient spirits tend to have simple ideas and hold onto them with immovable tenacity.

I stretch out my bident, probing the wall of wind keeping me from my beloved. The bident was strong enough to help me break down the tower’s door, but there’s nothing in the wind to catch hold of. It’s like a wall of smooth iron.

_ You have little power here, Unseen One. _

This is unfortunately true. I’m a long way from the homelands, and high up in the atmosphere. As distant from the Earth as it’s possible to be, and still remain on this plane of existence. Far removed from the bedrock of my powers.

“That doesn’t mean I will just give up.”

_ The Barley Mother was specific. We are to protect the Maiden from you. _

At least they’re willing to talk. That may be the only way to get them to yield.

“Your information is out of date. She is not the Maiden.” Perhaps if they understand Persephone is not a child in need of protection, they will let her go.

_ This is the name her mother gave her. _

“That is true, but it is not the name she chooses. She isn’t the Maiden,” I insist. “She is the Bringer of Death.”

All through this conversation, I move along the wall of wind, probing and pushing, searching for weak points. The impenetrable air defines an arc across the room where the mist starts. I can’t find any spots that are less strong. Cerberus also paces the boundary, pushing on it with his front paws, growling and trying to find something he can bite. We’re both becoming frustrated. Our time of traveling and deprivation has left both of us with short fuses.

I pause and try to think of what I know about  _ anemoi. _ They are invulnerable to violence and rigid in their thinking. They were formed in primordial times, when there was little in existence besides Gaia and Ouranos. They keep to themselves for the most part, and have not seen much need to update their belief systems with new-fangled notions.

A kernel of an idea takes root in my mind. It’s a last-ditch sort of ploy, but honestly, I can’t come up with anything else. I know I should probably just leave here and come back with help, but the idea utterly horrifies me. It was so hard to find the tower, and I suspect from my varying results with the stone that it probably moves. I don’t know if I could find it again. The idea of leaving Persephone behind fills me with cold terror.

I can still see her faintly through the fog. She seems to be lying down in midair, unmoving. I can’t even see her breathing. Her hair is long, coiled around her shoulders, and from what I can discern she’s wearing a long dress. Not what she was wearing when I saw her last.

“Persephone!” I shout. It’s a long shot, but perhaps I can wake her. I reach out with tendrils of my power to touch her, but they just fizzle out upon touching the wall of wind. “Persephone! It’s me!” 

Cerberus begins barking, too. We keep making noise, and I start throwing myself at the wall, bashing into it with my shoulder. It doesn’t yield at all.

“Persephone, please! Wake up! Sweetness!” I wipe away tears of misery and frustration. I  _ hate _ seeing her like this. It gives me a sick chill in my stomach, and I flash on the memory of the years I spent, imprisoned at a parent’s whim.

“No! Let her go! She needs to be free, she needs to walk in beautiful gardens and swim in sparkling water, she needs to make her own choices!” I’m sobbing, near hysterical. I don’t know what else to do.

_ Leave this place. _

The wind pushes on me, viciously hard, and I lean back against it but my feet slide on the stone floor. It’s pushing me inexorably back to the stairs. If it pushes me out of the room, I may never see Persephone again. Panic rises up and grips me with claws of despair.

“She is mine!” I bellow. “I am here to claim my bride!”

The pushing wind stops abruptly, spilling me onto the floor. I huff, and climb back to my feet, ignoring my stinging hands and knees. Next to me, Cerberus whines inquiringly.

_ What did you say, Unseen One? _

It’s too late to back out now. I’ve taken an irrevocable step that might be the only way out of this predicament, but also may be the first step on the road to destruction.

“Persephone is my chosen wife. I will have my bride, right now.”

The winds whisper and moan to one another for long moments, moving through the tower just enough to stir my cloak. They seem to be considering, consulting one another. I wait.

_ You take the Maiden for your own? You will treat her as an honorable wife? _

“Yes. I will.” A cold chill grips my gut and the nausea surges. Please let this work. Please let her forgive me.

_ Very well, Unseen One. Your claim on the Maiden takes precedence over her mother’s charge. Take your bride. _

Abruptly the pervasive sense of hostility is gone, and the mist begins to clear. I choke down a sob and stumble forward. As I cross the threshold of the former barrier, little swirls of mist eddy around my feet. I take a step, and another, my view of Persephone becoming more clear as I approach. I reach her and bend carefully over her. She’s paler than normal and unmoving, her eyes closed. Her chest barely moves with her breaths, which seem slower than they ought to be. She’s wearing only a plain, light peplos, and her feet are bare. There’s not even a single flower in her hair: a thing almost unheard of. 

Delicately I place my arms under Persephone and lift her, holding her to my chest. She doesn’t react. She’s completely limp and cold, and her hair hangs down. Suddenly my knees won’t hold me any longer and I crumple to the floor, clutching my beloved to me. My body is wracked with helpless sobs, and my tears fall on Persephone’s face. Relief and fear roil within me in equal measures, struggling between them for dominance.

***

Cerberus stands guard over us, waiting patiently for me to regain some semblance of discipline. Only occasionally does he come over and sniff us, and give Persephone an affectionate lick. She doesn’t react to that either. She isn’t getting any warmer, although I suppose it’s pretty cold here. I take off my cloak and carefully wrap her up in it, making sure her feet are well tucked-in. 

I’m feeling my exhaustion. It’s been many days since I slept or ate much of anything. The idea of climbing down the tower and then up out of the mountain saddle while carrying my beloved fills me with dismay. I decide to try transferring, hoping the  _ anemoi  _ have relinquished their hold on this place, and I’m delighted to find that it works. I step through the Narrow Spaces, holding Persephone close. 

Navigating this passage is a struggle. Transferring between realms requires more energy than many gods can manage on their own, and I am seriously depleted. I just barely manage to push hard enough to step out in the Underworld, and wobble on my feet upon arrival. I glance around. We’re just over the border from the Mortal Realm, near Cerberus’s usual guard post. 

I hear the sound of a throat clearing and turn slowly. Somehow I’m unsurprised to see the Fates standing there, smiling, clearly waiting for us.

“Hello, Aidoneus,” says Clotho. “We are delighted to see you bringing the Thrice-Chosen Queen home with you.”

“D-D-Did I make the r-right choice?” I stammer. I am desperate to know. I don’t know what else I could have done.

“We could not say. She gets her final choice, too, when she wakes up,” Lachesis admonishes.

“We wish you the best of luck.” Atropos beams at me. I don’t know what to make of that.

The three of them disappear, leaving me alone with my dog and my wife.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Beta work by Red
> 
> Disclaimer:
> 
> The opinions of the characters are the characters’, and not the author’s. I wrote this so that Hestia’s opinion that maybe Persephone was afraid of Hades and ran away from him was ludicrous, and universally ridiculed. Other characters stated that Persephone wouldn’t do that, because she loves Hades, and she’s too brave to just sneak off.
> 
> Despite this making sense in the story, I feel I need to say: It is NOT cowardly to run away from an abuser. It is not weak to take whatever opportunity presents itself to break the cycle of abuse and get clear of the abuser. It’s an act of courage, defiance, and self-care. The first thing an abuser does is make the victim doubt their own judgment and self-worth, taking away the means of escape. 
> 
> For dramatic reasons I wanted to bring Hades’s tendency to self-doubt into play, so I created an ambiguous situation where he could reasonably believe that perhaps he *did* frighten her away. He needed to struggle to see through the surface and realize that Persephone would, in fact, never run from him.
> 
> Hestia’s point of view is ludicrous because *we* understand Persephone. From the outside, her doubts are reasonable. Her willingness to speak them is brave and demonstrates solidarity with victims.


End file.
